1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for super-oxygenating water.
2. Background of the Related Art
Water supplies are becoming polluted at an alarming rate and the aquifers that haven't been contaminated are now under duress. Pristine aquifers are disappearing as demand for good, clean, drinkable water increases. Water has been taken for granted for the last seventy five years, and because so-called clean potable water has been so easily and readily available from our kitchen tap, the importance of water and water conservation has been lost to the masses. Several of our larger cities and many smaller ones cannot pass clean water tests. More and more chemicals are added to municipal water supplies to enable these water supplies to pass ‘safe’ levels for consumption. Adequate chemical levels are consistently being increased to accommodate the higher chemical levels found in municipal water supplies. Mining, farming, and industrial wastes have formed an intricate overlap of contaminants that in most cases cannot be cleaned out of water supplies sufficiently enough to make the water safe to bathe in, much less drink.
Water treatment facilities inadvertently add pollutants to their water at the same time it is being ‘purified’. Chlorine reacts with organic substances in the water to form trihalomethanes (THM's), a known group of carcinogens. In 1975, an EPA survey of eighty cities' water supplies was the first official alarm that there was a definite and serious problem. One particular THM, chloroform, was found in all the samples tested, with three other THM's found in most of the samples tested. In 1980, a study showed that cancer rates were extremely higher in cities that chlorinated their municipal water supplies. This was again attributed to the influence of ‘THM’s. People who drank chlorinated water were found to have 53% greater chance of contracting colon cancer and up to 93% greater chance of contracting rectal cancer. These figures are according to a report by the Presidents Council on Environmental Quality. Also noted as a common additive to water and in the same report, fluoride was reported to cause bone and kidney damage when found in quantities that were considered to be much more than adequate.
This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding clean water. In addition, a variety of contaminants can enter municipal water supplies as the water travels from the treatment plant to the kitchen tap. Many water supply systems are well over one hundred years old and are full of holes. As water mains deteriorate, asbestos, lead, and many other toxic metals and substances are released into the water. Inhibitors added to the water to slow down deterioration of the pipes are sometimes themselves toxic. Estimates indicate that there are more than 400,000 miles of asbestos-cement/clay pipe still being used everyday in the U.S.A. alone. An estimated 65 million people drink out of these water systems daily. A 1979 official test survey by the EPA found twenty percent of the cities examined had more than one million asbestos fibers per liter of water, with eleven percent of the cities having more than ten million fibers per liter of water. Studies in California and Canada link the ingestion of asbestos with an increased risk of cancer in the abdominal tract leading one to deduce that much colon cancer could be reduced and/or prevented by simply reducing or, even better, eliminating the amount of water borne asbestos from municipal pipes.
The human body is composed of from 70% to 80% water and requires a minimum of two quarts of water per day. Two quarts is what one uses up per day through urination, defecation, evaporation through the skin, and overall dehydration. This is the loss of water from an inactive individual. An athlete uses at least twice this amount or roughly at least four quarts per day. Depending on which informational research source is used, one researcher estimates that 75% of Americans are dehydrated and that 37% mistake thirst for hunger. A mere 2 percent drop in body water can trigger fatigue and mental dysfunction.
Steven Kay of the International Bottled Water Association said, “For this and other reasons, bottled water sales in the United States increased from 3.1 billion in 1995 to 4.6 billion in 1999.” In 2000, water sales topped 5.4 billion. The sweetheart of water sales from 2000 to 2001 was oxygenated water, which increased in sales by 45 percent. This culminated in over 100 million bottles being sold by the end of 2001. This unique niche of bottled water, with recent increased advertising and customer education on research regarding oxygenated waters' benefits to the body, may leave expectations of sales in the dust and push actual sales beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Coupled with humankinds' creation of urban deserts in many of today's cities, all water and beverage sales are poised to skyrocket.
With over 70,000 chemicals, all created by man and in use daily, and with an estimated 1000 new chemicals being developed each year, it is obvious why we are living in a chemical bath of our own creation. A recent study by the Clean Water Network reported that one-third of our rivers, one-half of our estuaries, and more than one-half of our lakes are not fit for fishing and swimming—forget the idea of drinking the water.
According to the Center for Disease Control, every year an estimated 120 million Americans drink tap water contaminated with waterborne diseases and known cancer causing chemicals. After undertaking one of the most comprehensive water research studies ever conducted, the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1993, found that each year more than 900,000 people in the U.S. became ill. As many as 900 of these people actually die from these waterborne diseases. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists over 700 toxic chemicals that can be found in our nations' tap waters. Beginning in 1976, the EPA has monitored the amount of toxins in the fat tissue of Americans; on a consistent basis, thirteen very highly toxic compounds are found in 100 percent of all the people analyzed. The EPA continues to conduct this analysis every year.
The EPA and several other governmental agencies state that they only permit chemical levels that are considered “safe” in our public water supplies. It is interesting that at every urban EPA office there is always bottled water available for drinking. The fact that our government cannot adequately protect everyone who drinks publicly supplied water is one of the main reasons that bottled water and in-home water filters have become such a huge booming business.
Over the next twenty years, the Water Infrastructure Network has estimated that $490 billion dollars will be necessary to repair and maintain public drinking water systems throughout the United States. What most Americans and people in general do not know about is the disaster that has already begun in our oldest cities. The day pipes, many laced with asbestos to hold the clay together, have eroded to the degree that dirt and contaminants are entering into the water system. The asbestos has been tested at 70 parts per million in one liter of water in several locations. It is obvious why the bottled water business made over 7 billion dollars last year by the peoples' effort to avert drinking water problems, some not even discussed herein.
Oxygen, the most vital element of life itself, is also the key to good health. We can live without water for weeks and go without food for months, but we can survive for only minutes without oxygen. Oxygen is the life-giving, life sustaining element. Approximately 90% of the body's energy is created by oxygen. All of the activities of the body, from brain function to elimination, are regulated by oxygen. Our ability to think, feel and act comes from the energy created by oxygen. The best way to optimize health is to be sure that we oxygenate every cell in our body. The more oxygen we have in our system, the more energy we produce. This is more important today than ever before, because of a general deficiency of oxygen intake directly related to the overall lack of exercise for the average person.
One of the many reasons for a lack of oxygen is our polluted atmosphere. Other reasons for oxygen depletion in the body include: planetary deforestation; devitalized soil; processed foods and poor diet; a clogged colon; automobile emissions; vitamin and mineral deficiencies; lack of exercise; chlorinated water; bacterial and fungal infections in the body; chemical pollutants; stress; poor posture and breathing habits; and electronic smog.
There is less oxygen today (on an average) in our bodies' systems to enable production of vital metabolic energy than ever recorded. It is extremely important that we increase our intake of oxygen if we are going to function on a level that gives our brain and body a chance to operate at peak levels.
The power of added oxygen in water was first evidenced over twenty years ago when European athletes dominated the world sports arena with the Soviet Union clearly leading the pack. Chilled water with oxygen added under pressure enabled the Soviet athletes to increase the oxygen level in their bloodstream and lower pulse rates by as much as 2 to 15 beats per minute. In addition, these athletes increased overall energy levels, biological performance, and stamina. When oxygen content is low in the body, the body becomes tired, weaker, and endurance is compromised. The Soviets outperformed the American athletes and we did not know how this was achieved at the time. It took several years for us to catch up to what the Soviets knew in the early 1970's. Knowledge of oxygenation and water structure are the keys to understanding water's biological behavior.
Blood plasma holds approximately three percent dissolved oxygen and red blood cells (hemoglobin) hold ninety seven percent. From the red blood cells the oxygen passes out into the plasma and is transferred to cells that need oxygen during metabolic processes. These cells pass CO2 back to the plasma where it is then picked up by the red blood cells. Free oxygen in the blood then becomes the purging agent to clean and purify the blood. However, there must be enough free oxygen in the blood to enable this process. Many times, there is too much environmental pollution to allow for this excess free oxygen in the blood, and this is where OSIRIS water/liquid has a tremendous place in the market of oxygenated water (virtually including almost every person in the world).